Misuse of Power

The theme of misuse of power is a clear theme of this novel because of Prophet Childs. Prophet Childs is a very different leader from his father. The previous Prophet was a gentler man who allowed his followers to go into the city whenever they had a cause, who allowed the reading of fiction from the modern world, who did not lock his followers off from the rest of the world. Prophet Childs, however, built a fence around the Compound as one of his first duties as Prophet. Prophet Childs also banned books, forcing everyone to burn all their books. Prophet Childs created many rules difficult for some of his followers to obey, including the idea that premature or babies that are somehow imperfect are to be killed because they are an abomination.